Tag Archives: florists

It can be difficult to find the best places to buy plants, flowers and gardening tools in East London – often the best places aren’t on the radar. However, to assist you we’ve come up with a handy map showing our favourites markets, shops and nurseries in the area.

A couple of weeks ago I was doing a work attachment at the Ham & High newspaper in London. I was sent to Belsize Park to vox-pop locals about a historic florist which is set to be demolished in the area.

The Salmon Florist, located next door to Belzise Park tube station, is over a century old. The quaint little hut, which sells a range of flowers and shrubs, brightens up Haverstock Hill, standing out in a street full of chain restaurants and high-street shops.

The hut was once part of the Devonshire nurseries, which used to cover a large proportion of the land by the tube (it’s now a council estate and coffee shops). Despite opposition from some residents, Camden Council have sold the land, which looks like it will be replaced with a basement development.

Despite it being a cold and rainy day, a number of people stopped to look at the plants. The vast majority of people I spoke to said they were sad to see it go, as it is such a focal point of the area. Many had gone there to buy additions to their gardens or seasonal decorations and gifts and thought it’d be a shame.

It’s a sad fact that similar things are happening all over London (and the rest of the UK as well). We need to start supporting our local, independent gardening shops.

Do you know of anything similar happening in East London? Tweet us @eastendgardener.